Art Critics

The Subject:

Although critics who write about the arts tend to deny the existence of any objective standards for evaluating works of art, they have a responsibility to establish standards by which works of art can be judged.


My Response:

It has been proposed that art critics have a responsibility to establish standards by which works of art can be judged. While the thought may be appealing to some, it is assuredly appalling to many more and most likely hardly even an afterthought to most. The truthfulness of the assertion depends entirely the person or people to whom these critics are to be held responsible.

Those who are interested in a particular art form are interested in it because of how it makes them feel. Art in every form is emotional, and no two people emote exactly alike. A person may find a critic with whom they may agree in most instances, but their opinions will invariably differ from time to time. How can a standard even be established, let alone adhered to, when each party may potentially feel different about a particular subject?

Regardless of whether standards are even possible in art critique, it would be an injustice to the critics to impose any standards on them. After all, is art critique not itself an art? Should they not be allowed to express their opinions unfettered by arbitrary rules?

I hold no critic responsible for adhering to any standards. Let the critics tell me how they feel, and I can either take it or leave it. They and I may, after all, not agree on what is and what is not enjoyable. This is hardly a matter of concern for me; what does it matter to poverty-stricken third-world farmer just struggling to survive?

Introduction

Hello, Blogosphere. One of my new year's resolutions this year was to finally take (and pass) the GRE. The portion of the exam that has always given me fits of fear is the section on Analytical Writing. Since my days in high school, I have always fancied myself to be a poor writer--at least I semi-conciously wanted to be. The rebel inside wanted something to despise, and apparently he chose writing.

Now that I am nearly ten years removed from high school and thinking about re-entering the academic world, I am compelled to defeat that inner rebel and learn to write.

Last night I was browsing the Official GRE Website looking for practice questions. For the purposes of boosting my confidence, I first tried my hand at the Quantitative Reasoning questions. After all, nothing brightens the day more than a good (and solvable) math problem--nothing aside from spending time with my adorable wife and daughter, that is.

Upon acing the sample math problems, I took a deep breath and plunged into both the "sample issue tasks" and the "sample argument tasks." I began to read them and formulate ideas for possible responses. But the rebel quickly took over and asked, "How on earth are you going to be able to pass this section of the exam?" My honest answer is, "I don't know."

After some thought and some advice from a friend, I came to the revolutionary conclusion that practice makes perfect. In an effort to accustom myself to writing, and hopefully to doing it well, I have committed myself to answering all of the "Analytical Writing" practice assignments, and I am going to do so online--here on this very blog!

Your comments and criticisms are welcome and in fact desired. The more feedback, the better, says I. I truly want to do well on the GRE and I think this will be good for me.

Here's to grad school...and beyond!